Tell us about your series. What do you like or dislike? Who would like this series? What resources are available related to this series? How could you use this series in your class?

The series I chose was Diary of a Wimpy Kid and I’m really enjoying the books! The main character, Greg Heffley, insists that he is not keeping a diary, rather a journal. Over time, Greg journals about his middle school mishaps and talks about what’s happening in his life. He’s a pretty selfish middle schooler that knows how to use the people around him to his advantage, while trying to be the next comic strip writer or wrestler or whatever it is that week. The stories are super funny and I think people of all ages can enjoy reading these books.

I really like how easy the series is to read! It’s a short but hilarious read filled with comics throughout. You can easily pick up where you left off in the book or even read the books out of order and still follow along. The comics are funny and allow the reader to better picture the scenarios that Greg is describing. I think students can relate to Greg at times, for instance, the way his brother pranks him or how Greg is forced by his mother to sign up for the school play. This series would be great for upper elementary and middle school students because it’s relatable to their own lives. I also think it would be great for readers who aren’t that interested in books. It’s easy to get into and can make you LOL, which I think would be great to hook students into reading more.

I think the target audience for this series would be upper elementary and middle school boys because it’s written from Greg’s perspective. I think young boys would find Greg’s journal entries funny and could relate to the awkward middle school phase of trying to fit in and make it through the school year. Despite the series being from a male perspective, I think young girls would still get a kick out of Greg’s journal entries as well!

I searched through Pinterest for a bit and didn’t come up with many resources for this series. It might be nice to ask other teachers what they’ve done with the book and how they’ve come up with activities or resources, either in person or via social media, like Twitter. I think reading this series would be a great way to get students interested in journaling. By reading this book, either individually or as a class, students could get an example of how to keep a journal and be inspired to keep their own. Journaling is a beneficial way for students to get out their thoughts without feeling pressured to write about a certain topic and Greg does a great job with this. By having students read Diary of a Wimpy Kid, you could also recommend other books that are similar, which will encourage more reading. Like Miller suggested in our textbook, teachers could have conferences with students or between students, which would allow students to discuss what they liked and/or didn’t like. Diary of a Wimpy is a great read for students and can easily be incorporated into the classroom activities.

What are your take-away ideas from the Miller text so far? What ideas are resonating? What seems challenging? What are you most excited about in terms of teaching reading? Most afraid of?

Miller’s text is packed with take away ideas! I’m really enjoying reading her ideas on how to motivate students to become “wild” readers. It’s apparent that Miller truly loves reading and is passionate about instilling this love for books in her students, something I hope to accomplish as well. One of the most important ideas I’ve taken from the text so far would be to encourage reading in those edge times. I had never thought about all the times I’m stuck waiting and how much time I could be spending reading a book. I like that she had students write down times when they had “reading emergencies” to show students how useful having a book with them at all times is.

Thinking about reading reminds me of my mom; I used to laugh a bit when my mom would double check she’d placed a book in her purse. There’s never a day where my mom doesn’t find time to read one of her books. I think about how much my mom enjoys spending time reading and I hope to see that same enjoyment in my future students. I think finding a comfortable reading space and choosing your own books are essential to the enjoyment of reading. Students should find reading a book to be a good experience, not just another boring task. Not only is it important to incorporate reading time in the classroom, but allowing students to find a comfy space and choose something that they’re interested in makes it feel less like schoolwork.

Time seems like a big challenge. Not only finding time outside of school for students to read, but finding class time to set aside for reading. It seems like teaching the standards and preparing students for tests take up a big chunk of the day and with so many subjects to cover, it could be hard to carve out time for reading.  When lesson planning and thinking about what needs to be covered each day, I’ll have to remember that even reading for ten minutes here and there can make a difference.

I’m really excited to share funny stories with my students! I’m a huge goofball and I think it’ll be fun to read to my class. I like to be dramatic at times and use silly voices, which I think can make reading even more entertaining. Reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid cracks me up and I can’t wait to share stories like that with my students. I also really like the “Blind date with a book” idea so there’s lots of fun ways to encourage students to read. I remember when I was in elementary school, we did a day called “Read and Feed”. I looked forward to it because I got to wear my PJ’s to school and read books and be comfy and eat snacks. I want my students to have lots of experiences with reading and to find books they enjoy.

I think the idea of having my own class makes me a little nervous because it’ll be a new experience. Being a student and learning about how to teach is very different from actually being in charge of a class and lesson planning and all those teacher things! I like that Miller’s text is easy to read and will serve as a great resource when I am a teacher and I’m struggling to engage students in reading. There’s lots of ideas for checking students understanding or helping to identify students who aren’t actually reading. It’s nice to have all these resources and be able to discuss ideas with everyone now that I can refer back to later.

 

Hello, my name is Sarah Barker! I was born and raised in Fresno, CA. I attended Fresno City College for two years in the honors program before transferring to CSU Chico last fall. I’ve loved Chico from the minute I stepped on campus for orientation! I enjoy being involved in our campus and community. I’m currently a Resident Advisor in University Village and I’m loving working with older students. In my free time, I enjoy thrifting, hiking, naps and traveling.

I’ve always been good with children, but it wasn’t until I volunteered in a kindergarten classroom that I considered teaching.  I was lucky to be an after school program tutor for some awesome fourth graders and I now know what grade I want to teach! I plan to teach at the elementary school level and eventually, earn my Master’s and PhD so I can work in higher education.

Here’s my riddle:

No tricky stepmother and promised dress,

No birds and doves helping to pick up a lentil mess.

No signs of  “Basin of Water” or “Broken Ladle” in which this woman can dwell,

Though this princess once wore animal skin as well.